Dr. Art Sphar has retired as full-time staff chaplain with the Tacoma-Pierce County Chaplaincy, effective May 31.

Along with his resignation comes the hope of spending more time enjoying retirement with his wife, Sandy, and chartering a boat in the waters of Puget Sound, he said. He also plans to spend more time with his mother and grandchildren.

“The grandkids are growing up way too fast,” he said.

The Sumner resident has served in a staff position since retiring six years ago as senior pastor of Lake Tapps Christian Church in Bonney Lake.

As chaplain, he estimates he has responded to approximately 600 emergency calls.

While Sphar creates a vacancy within the TPCC, the organization will still have plenty of help with its four full-time chaplains, he said.

In his June TPCC newsletter, Sphar equated a chaplain’s work with the unidentified man in a field mentioned in the biblical story of Joseph, found in Genesis chapter 37, who approached the wandering Joseph in search of his brothers.

“I think the man in the field is a model for chaplains and he is the model I have tried to follow in my own chaplaincy,” he wrote. “The people we serve usually don’t know us and they are not sure why we are there. However, the ministry of presence that we bring often makes a difference in the people’s lives in the future. Usually, it is a difference we don’t ever hear about.

“Still, God uses us, just like he did the man in the field, to accomplish his purpose. It has been a privilege and an honor for me to be able to serve as a man in the field.”

While he may be retiring as full-time chaplain with the TPCC, he isn’t hanging his hat up entirely.

“I will focus now on serving Sumner and Bonney Lake Police Departments and Pierce County Sheriff foothills Detachment as a volunteer,” he wrote.

“A major goal will be to find my replacement here in east county so that I can fully retire in the next couple of years,” he said.